My little Pixie

Question
Three days ago we got two 8 week old ferrets from a local pet store. The male is doing fine and eating regularly. But the female is very reluctant to eat, she prefers playing all the time to eating, it's starting to concern me because she's a doll and I'm afraid she might have something serious like insulinoma :(

Any suggestions?

Thank you

Answer
Hi Amanda:

Congratulations on your new babies!  I'm wondering if it just looks like Pixie isn't eating much because your little male eats so much more?  He will end up being about half again as large as Pixie when they are both full-grown. She will weigh anywhere from 1 to 3 pounds and he will end up being somewhere between 2 and 5 pounds if they are 'average'...so he must eat much more during this growth period.  They will be full-grown when they are seven months old, so will probably eat more than they will as adults during this growth period.

With baby ferrets, you shouldn't have to worry about either adrenal disease or insulinoma.  Those are things that happen to grown ferrets, not babies.  

The most common problem we see with baby ferrets is intestinal blockage.  Somewhere in the chain between the breeder and the owner, it is not unusual for a ferret to come into contact with either cloth (bedding) or even paper litter pellets, which can cause a partial intestinal blockage.  Intestinal blockages and injuries from falls are the most common things that make baby ferrets unwell. This can be handled easily by thoroughly ferretproofing the areas of the home they play in and also, since your kids are fairly new to your home, it would be a good idea to give them a good 'clean out' with a laxative.

I am not at all happy with the results I have gotten from using the ferret/cat laxatives in a tube and sold commercially to prevent hairballs or intestinal blockages. These are basically vaseline with sugary flavorings to get the ferret to eat it.  The sugars make the ferret much more likely to develop insulinoma in later years, so I just don't give it to my kids anymore.

I have seen pet store ferrets eat nearly a whole hammock before because they are bored and not getting any attention, so it's no wonder they arrive in their new homes already well on the way to a possible intestinal blockage!   Now that you have them home, you can watch and control their play area; even then they will accumulate fur from cleaning themselves, so this needs to be repeated about monthly just to be sure they stay healthy.

What I give my ferrets, and what I recommend folks give their ferrets, is something called Vetasyl, a "bulk" pet laxative in a capsule.  I warm 8 oz of water in the microwave, add one level teaspoon of Uncle Jim's Duk Soup Mix (by Marshalls and available at pet stores or online pet supply stores) and stir well.  Then I open ONE vetasyl capsule into the bowl and stir quickly. It will swell, so try to feed as soon as possible after adding the vetasyl. Sit down and introduce the ferret to the mixture by putting your finger into it, then into the ferret's mouth so he has to taste it.  They may have to taste it several times before they actually start scarfing it down on their own.  Mine are used to it and get all excited when it's 'soup' time.  Good for them, in more ways than one!!

The vetasyl does not affect the flavor of the Duk Soup, so the ferrets gobble it down.  Once ingested, the mixture begins to swell and grabs up any bits of fur or other foreign objects it comes across in the digestive system.

I do this treatment once daily for three days in a row. I have had ferrets pass a hairball as large as my little finger on the third day, so it's important to do it three days IN A ROW.  Try to get the ferret to eat as much as possible. My biggest ferret eats the whole 8 oz!  The next morning he has BIG poops in the litterbox.  By the third day in a row that you feed this concoction, it has done whatever it will do.  I repeat this once a month just to keep them hairball / obstruction free.  It works GREAT and I would strongly recommend you try this with your little ones just to be sure they are all clean inside.  

Another thing that makes good soup is Hill's A/D Feline, which you have to get at your vet's office. This makes a great soup when you add water and gives them a healthy snack in addition to being a great way to give the vetasyl. When my ferrets don't eat well, this is what I keep on hand to help fatten them up. Again, introduce them by dipping your finger in warm A/D "soup", then into the ferret's mouth to get them to learn to love it. Ferrets sometimes take a while to get used to any new food, so just keep offering it until they finally love it - they will if you are persistent.  I give my kids "soup" (either A/D or Uncle Jim's) every night before bed and it's a great habit to get into.  NEVER give sweets of any kind - keep snacks to MEAT ONLY, as ferrets are "obligate carnivores", which means they should ONLY eat meat and meat products - definitely no sugars.  Sugars can cause a ferret to have insulinoma as it ages, so definitely stay away from all sweets.

Hope that helps - don't hesitate to write again if you need further help.

Sincerely,

Jacquie Rodgers